While the mobilization of farmers in January, although intense and lasting, did not lead to major change according to the profession, the unions are now wondering how to move the lines ? The FNSEA and the JA, the majority unions, are calling for a national mobilization starting Monday. Actions have already started in Drôme as in Ardèche, and if they will continue we are not heading towards a “hard” blockage roads, said Vladimir Gauthier, president of the Young Farmers of Drôme, this Friday.
“We are having discussions with Ardèche, with Vaucluse, to take coordinated actions, possibly on roads, but I do not think that we will take the same action as last January, where we blocked the highway for 10 days. Today, we understood that the legislative time was very long and if we want to be able to hold on for 3-4 months, until all the laws come out, we will not be able to hold on to the highways. The union will respond to the national call to light fires in the countryside this Monday, “to keep the government's feet warm, remind us that there are promises pending”.
“Pending promises are necessary”
Clearly, farmers believe that the ball is in the government's court, that we must maintain pressure without overdoing it. Vladimir Gauthier recognizes that some are resigned, “it's still quite tiring, for ten days, there are some farmers who are indeed tired.” We must add to this a very difficult year for a majority of Drôme farmers. “The cereal harvests, whether wheat or corn, have not been good. For sunflowers, it is disastrous. Among our breeder friends, bluetongue has wreaked havoc, we have colleagues who have lost more than 40% of their herds And then, among milk producers, we see enormous production losses.lists the president of the JA.
Furthermore, Mercosur is still scary: Europe is about to sign a new free trade agreement with countries not subject to the same environmental standards (in South America). But for Vladimir Gauthier, it is difficult to weigh without farmers from other European countries. “Today, what could block this agreement is to find a majority of European countries opposed to it, at least a blocking majority. Our European colleagues, whether the Italians, the Spanish, the Germans , do not necessarily have the weight that we manage to have in France to influence the policy of their government”.
